Bench does it again as Raptors shake Game 1 jinx

16/04/2018

The Toronto Raptors ended their 10-game losing streak in Game 1 of playoffs openers when they handled their business on Saturday afternoon and beat the Washington Wizards, 114-106.at the Air Canada Centre.

Whatever demons that have followed the Toronto Raptors during Game 1s throughout their franchise's history, they've finally quieted them.

The Raptors have been playing much better lately, winning four of five heading into the postseason (3-1-1 ATS), and there is a reason they earned the top seed in the East. "He's one of the best, if not the best big-man shooter in the league".

Bradley Beal contributed 19 points, Mike Scott had 14 off the bench and Marcin Gortat finished with 12 for Washington, which shot nearly 48-percent and had a 59-55 lead at halftime.

Gortat wanted to see some videotape before saying much else. Toss in one from Pascal Siakam and C.J. Miles not having one of those games? He assisted on all three of Ibaka's long-range makes and one of O.G. Anunoby's, too. All the more impressive that they did this without VanVleet, who makes the bench that much more unsafe for Toronto, and brings another weapon that they can use in clutch minutes. One of those three guys we can use in that position. "Some guys can just flat out shoot and they don't put the ball on the floor as well". We can't make those mistakes.

When it was over, it was Wizards coach Scott Brooks who was answering questions about how to slow down the potent Toronto offence. Bradley Beal is averaging 19 points and two rebounds while John Wall is averaging 23 points and 15 assists.

DeRozan scored 12 points in the quarter as the Raptors took a slim 86-85 lead into the fourth. "It's definitely a pick your poison, but we just have to do it better", Brooks said. "When he doesn't focus on defense, that's when I get frustrated because you don't want to be known as the guy who has potential to guard".

Ah, but move on to what, exactly? And cue urgency from the Raptors, who came out firing from halftime, getting quick 3-pointers from Lowry, DeRozan and Serge Ibaka in the first three minutes of the second half as if to say, "not this time". "They played well (and) made some big shots for them, and that's what they're going to do every game". The miss was, effectively, the end of the night.

The Philadelphia 76ers crushed the Miami Heat 130-103 after outscoring them by 31 points during the second half.

The Raptors still remember getting swept out of the first round by the Wizards in 2015. "A lot of times we find a way to win ugly".

Said Scott: "I thought we did it to ourselves". Turnovers and threes. That was about it. "We had them and give credit to them ... but we should have won that". Not sure at all. Oubre said professionalism was the No. 1 priority, then Brooks shared a characteristic, and the two went back and forth until they had created a long list that eventually drilled home the goal of the game: defense over nearly everything else.

Related News:

Shortly after the one-hour attack ended, vehicles with loudspeakers roamed the streets of Damascus blaring nationalist songs. Mattis' caution, however, did not mean that Trump would back off from a strike at some point.

This was widely viewed as racist, and it led the Thunder to suspend Davis from his duties for the opening game of the playoffs. It is unclear if Davis will address his comments in a future broadcast , but Mahoney said that decision is left up to him.

With their third match of the series, CSK would love to carry forward their winning streak against Kings XI on Sunday , April 15. Gayle and Rahul laid into Harbhajan, picking 24 runs off his two overs and getting KXIP off the blocks in a hurry.

However, on closer inspection, it was revealed to be the deceased body of David Buckel , who had committed suicide. According to reports, David Buckel fatally set himself on fire early Saturday morning in a New York City park.

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh chaired the programme while Health Minister J P Nadda was the chief guest on the occasion. In particular, he appreciated the development initiatives carried out in the southern districts of Sukma, Dantewada and Bijapur.

Vettel now holds a 17-point lead in the overall standings over Hamilton after having won the opening two races of the season. It's like empires rising and falling and maybe Mercedes are on the wane and the new Ferrari era is about to come back.

As reported by People , Underwood looks like she'll be pulling out all the stops for her big return to the stage this weekend. On Tuesday, Underwood lastly opened as much as her followers about her damage recovering in an open letter on her web site.

In a Facebook post, the gangster said that Mr Verma had "tried his best to escape, but eventually suffered". A man by the name of Dilpreet Singh Dhahan , via Facebook post, is claiming to be behind Verma's shooting.

I was thinking that I wanted to get to the end just so I can be part of the Scottish team and do the whole team proud. However, his uprightness did not last long as he again fell, this time hitting his head on a rail by the roadside.

India's women's hockey team turned in an embarrassing performance in the bronze medal round against England and was thrashed 6-0. But what caught the imagination of table tennis fans at Gold Coast was her brilliant win in the women's singles final.

As Gaethje stumbled around the cage, Poirier swarmed in to tag him with combinations before finishing him along the cage wall. What remains unsure, however, is whether Poirier will get his wish for an instant title shot.

Most liked

Malaga vs. Real Madrid
Juve played really well, they made it 0-3, but we had chances and with the goal we went through to the semi-finals. It's going to be hard , but we'll go there to win and they're going to give it all.

Kim Jong-un meets Chinese delegation
North Korea is marking its biggest national holiday by playing up its intention to strengthen ties with China. Song and an art troupe to Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, to attend an worldwide art festival.

Cardi B admits she felt 'ambushed' by Nicki Minaj too
Since she has already announced a music video for the track, I'm confident that she will give it single treatment. Nicki also posted a video of herself and Quavo in the studio hinting that they are working on some new music.

Wolves Get Promotion To Premier League
Birmingham were reduced to 10 men in the 52nd minute when Harlee Dean was sent off for his challenge on Helder Costa . They've gained 28 out of their 42 Championship video games this season and have misplaced simply six.

CWG: Saina beats Sindhu to gold; Srikanth takes silver
This was Joshna's first and Dipika's second medal at Gold Coast after taking silver in the mixed doubles with Saurav Ghosal. It was a flawless end to what was an imperfect start when her accreditated father did not gain access to the Games village.

Shock as Blitzboks fail to medal at Commonwealth Games
It was a one-sided men's final as New Zealand killed off the game with two early converted tries against a ragged Fijian defence. Etene Nanai-Seturo opened the scoring for New Zealand after two minutes and Vilimoni Koroi's conversion gave them a 7-0 lead.

Why the colour blue is associated with Dr BR Ambedkar
The Prime Minister said special courts are being set up for an urgent hearing of cases involving atrocities on SCs and STs. Addressing the event, Adityanath said that the BJP government has worked tirelessly for the upliftment of Dalits.